Trojans Continue Their Fade

It was advertised as a love fest by the Oregon fans, a way for the Pit Crew at McArthur Court to show Henry Bibby that it really didn’t mean all the taunts it had thrown his way over the years, personal jeers that had the USC coach complaining loudly and publicly.

So they erupted when he strode onto the court for pre-game introductions Thursday night, chanting his name in an adoring sing-song while flashing homemade signs, one that endorsed a Bibby run for the presidency and another, held up by a male student, that proposed marriage.

It was all in jest, of course, as was USC’s early success against the Ducks.

The Trojans ran out to a 12-point lead but, like some old punched-out boxer, went flat and was knocked out by Oregon, 79-66, before a sold-out crowd of 9,087.

Having its lone point guard foul out with 11:48 to play and USC down by three points only exacerbated the end result -- the Trojans’ fifth consecutive loss en route to their dropping to 10-14 overall, 5-10 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

“It was all my fault,” said sophomore Derrick Craven, USC’s only scholarship playmaker with sophomore Brandon Brooks out for the year with a broken left leg and senior Robert Hutchinson taking the week off to deal with personal issues.

Craven picked up his final two fouls in a 52-second span.

“I should have been in there,” he said.

In truth, the momentum had already swung in Oregon’s favor before Craven fouled out on a charging call on the perimeter by referee Dave Libbey.

After building a 39-27 lead on a Roy Smiley three-pointer with 6:07 remaining in the first half, USC managed only two more field goals before halftime.

Oregon went on a 16-3 run, going up, 43-42, with 46.5 seconds to go before Craven’s basket at the buzzer.

After a Rory O’Neil tip-in gave USC a five-point advantage, 56-51, with 14:42 left in the game, the Trojans’ shots stopped falling.

USC made eight of 12 three-point shots in the first half, zero of seven in the second half.

Oregon (19-7, 9-6), led by point guard Luke Ridnour’s 23 points, used a 19-2 run to go up, 70-58.

Included in the run: Craven fouling out and Bibby being assessed a technical foul by Libbey.

“I called a timeout and he called a technical on me,” Bibby said. “The crowd was loud and I was screaming so he could hear me.

“I can’t comment anymore on that because then I’ll be suspended and I wasn’t deserving of it.”

With Craven out, point guard duties fell to shooting guards Smiley, who missed the previous two games with a sprained right knee, and Errick Craven.

There was little semblance of offense -- aside from Gregg Guenther’s 12 points and 11 rebounds -- as the Trojans had two field goals in the final 13-plus minutes.

“It was real tough because we didn’t have anybody to lead the team, call out the plays,” said Desmon Farmer, who had 15 points. “We were confused. Guys were rushing shots.”

Farmer started in a rush, scoring the Trojans’ first 12 points on four three-pointers in the first 4:20.

But with Oregon utilizing an assortment of double teams, Farmer had three free throws the rest of the way.

“I had two guys guarding me,” Farmer said. “Can’t do nothing with that.”